Thanks for the Meme-ory

One of the curiosities of the blogosphere is memes, which is kind of like an adult version of tag. One of the memes I watched with interest is along the lines of list 25 interesting things about me. This doesn't call for the usual hum drum stuff like I've got blonde hair and blue eyes (which I don't, by the way) but curious little tidbits like my whistle was recorded on National Radio for a school choir song (which is true.)(The song was The cat came back)

Anyway this got me to thinking what a fun exercise it would be to do this for my book character - 25 curious things about Sam Shephard you didn't know. I thought it would be an interesting and quirky way to background a character - so that is going to be one of my school holiday activities, along with filing my mountains of newspaper clippings.


Another lovely thing about the blogosphere is the circulation of awards, which let you know that hey, someone out there is really enjoying your blog, so I was delighted to recieve a Sisterhood Award from Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise.

As with these awards there are a few simple rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

I'm going to pass on this Sisterhood Award to one very worthy recipient, because she has slogged her guts out and managed to produce a novel manuscript in a very short intense time, while still working full time, being Mum and Queen of her household and has almost stayed sane in the process, so this one is winging its way to Tania Roxborogh over at Banquo's Son

The criminally weird bits from the news...

Truth is stranger than fiction - all you need to do is look at the news...


A lot of hot air:

This is beyond childishness!

Fart Fight Gets Nasty



Making a clean get-away?

And my question is what would you do with it all?

Thief nabbed with 68 tubes of toothpaste



Caught Short:

Respect of the dead clearly fell short of their business mission statement

Corpse was apparently cut to fit coffin:

Housekeeping

After having had a quote of the week that hadn't changed in four months, I decided it was time to give it the flick. It was annoying me.

Seeing as I was messing around with the side thingies (I'm such a technical girl) I've added a section with writers I know who have websites as well as blogs. And if there are any of my writer friends out there who are feeling slighted and are ready to strike me viciously off their Christmas card lists because I've left them off, just email me and I'll add it. It's the last day of term, a long and busy term and my brain is fried, so I'm bound to have missed someone!

Some of the websites are amazing and I'd especially recommend you visit Claire Beynon's website, as it is gorgeous.

The school holidays are upon us - thank heavens, and we have friends arriving to stay for Easter (I have to find the spare bedroom under all the piles of cra....gear)

The boy's have given me their wish list of things to do in the holidays which include the usual suspects - visit the museum and art gallery, Chinese garden, go to the beach. (Yes, I know it's winter, doesn't seem to stop em) They have also put on it to make pasta, make hot cross buns, do some paintings on canvas and make the model aeroplanes they got for Christmas.

School holidays...busy happy days, lazy starts, kids around to play, lots of baking.

Bliss.

What a day!

My day got off to a (cue the twilight zone theme music) life imitating art moment when I opened up my Otago Daily Times newspaper and saw on the front page a great big photo of an elephant attached this article: Pub helps solve Jumbo problem.

There are too many similarities to The Ringmaster for my comfort, especially as Sam avoids looking at a front cover picture of an elephant in the novel after certain events. I am not going to be able to relax until that flaming circus leaves town!

Today was also a media day, with Write On, my radio show at noon, and then Dunedin Diary television book reviews this evening, so it was busy, busy, busy.


On Write On I interviewed poet and short story writer Sue Wootton. We talked about her experiences as Burns Fellow and how it benefited her, and also about teaching poetry to children - Sue did a workshop at a local school and the children did such a fabulous job of their poems we recorded some for the show. They were a treat.

I also interviewed writer Philip Temple and we chatted about his recent memoir Chance is a Fine Thing, and his being in New Zealand for fifty years. It was fascinating to talk about what forms identity, with Philip's life defined by his being a New Zealander, rather than an immigrant from England. The time passed far to quickly and we could have happily chatted for a full hour.

This evening I reviewed two books on Dunedin Diary. The first was a beautifully practical book - The Star Garden Book, by Gillian Vine, which is a week by week guide to gardening in Dunedin and Southern climate conditions - very handy considering today we have had hail and sleet and the temperature is four degrees!

I also reviewed O. E. Middleton's collection of short stories Beyond the Breakwater, from fifty years of his work. I have to say I've really enjoyed dipping into his stories, and his wonderful descriptions which are made more remarkable by the knowledge he is blind.

So it's been a busy old day, and tomorrow I might actually get some work done!

Fine tuning

I'm about to get all metaphorical on you, for you see, the piano tuner came today and as I sat in my office, visibly wincing at the discordant sounds as he started the process of tuning I couldn't help but think of the process of editing.

My piano is an old dunger, rescued from an orchard shed somewhere in Hawkes Bay and it has done me years of loyal service and been dragged halfway around the countryside with our various shifts. It's sound is robust, loud even and most definitley out of tune, but not too badly out of tune with itself. It has big cracks in the panelling, and corners are chipped of the piano keys courtesy of someone's children over the years (not my own) but it's my piano, and I love it and I can't imagine life without one.

The tuner came today because I came to the realisation that no, Hubby wasn't going to buy me a new piano for my mumbleth birthday, that all subtle and unsubtle hints had gone unheeded, and I was going to have to enjoy the company of the clanger for a few years to come.

So where's the metaphorical stuff you ask?

I was listening to the discordant notes, which started from the first tap of a key and turn of his tuning device and thought about how when you finish the first draft of your manuscript, it seems to all fit together, to be in tune with itself, be a melodious whole. But then you look closer, and make an adjustment here, which then makes the next note seem a little sharp or flat, a little grating, so that too needs a tweak, so you do that, and the two sound great together, but they don't sit right with the next passage, so you set to reworking that, and you look ahead at the vastness of the entire manuscript and think, bl**dy-hell I've got a hell of a lot of adjustment to do here.

But as with any process, it takes time and patience to work your way along the keyboard, making sure the words sound right, so that passages together make harmonious chords, and link together to form the melody, that the tempo ebbs and flows, the intensity moves with the story you want to tell, carries you, propels you forward.

And it all begins from tuning, one key at a time, listening carefully and trusting that when you get to the end, it will be a sweet, harmonious whole.

And yes, I tidied it.

After seeing the pictures on Writers' rooms I felt inspired to post a picture of where I work from. After seeing a few of the authors' offices I didn't feel so bad about the mess in mine, in fact, mine looked positively minimalistic compared to some.

The pictures of boats in various states of distress are research for Containment. I'm particularly fond of the Prince of Tokyo pictures on the left hand side as they are a bit of an up-yours to a Port of Otago person who told me they never had any shipping accidents at Otago and never lost containers - yeah, right.

I like dragonflies, and have the coolest dragonfly personalised stationery. I also like postcards, and on the wall on the right you can't see are several more, including the lovely new Katherine Mansfield Society postcard sent to me by Aspiring Writer. There are also old style botanical pictures and pictures of bugs - I love bugs.

My nick-nack tray is full of bits sent by friends over the years, including a personal apprentice robot and a stress buster. There is also a cool Penguin Books miniature cup with Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham that I picked up at the kids' school fair. I wonder if they ever did a Ngaio Marsh one?

You'll notice I write facing the wall and have no windows to look out. That's by choice. Hubby has the desk near the window. If I had one, I'd spend the day staring out of it. Also it would be too glarey. In saying that, I fantasise about having an office looking out over the sea, or with a view to or opening out into bush. But I will have to sell a hell of a lot more books before we can afford to indulge that fantasy...Better get back to work then, hadn't I.

The Writing is on the Wall

Sage advice from some graffiti on the wall by Roslyn Fresh Choice Supermarket...